


there's wolverines (i've seen 'em firsthand)

by klaviergavout



Series: Prompt Bingo! [3]
Category: The Burnt Part Boys - Miller/Tysen/Elder
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Wild animals, Wilderness, Wolverines, because we all know frances wasn't kidding when she said there were wolverines, inspired by steve kroschel taming a wolverine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:08:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23824342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klaviergavout/pseuds/klaviergavout
Summary: Frances was tough and had a good head on her shoulders, if not a fierce temper. But none of them could have ever expected that she'd be so tough as to tame a wolverine.
Series: Prompt Bingo! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1704583





	there's wolverines (i've seen 'em firsthand)

**Author's Note:**

> I'm doing a prompt bingo card to try and encourage myself to write more often and explore a range of different fandoms! The prompt for this fic was 'Pets'. After watching Burnt Part on Youtube today I thought to myself, 'wouldn't it be funny if Frances had a pet wolverine,' and then realised that's absolutely something she would do.

It had started off as a genuinely nice suggestion, and from Jake of all people. _Let's go see Frances,_ he'd said to Pete one morning, mouth shoved full of oatmeal. _She must be getting real lonely out there._ Three weeks had passed since the last time they'd visited her campsite, and that had been the day they all came down from the Burnt Part; it would be unfair not to go check on her after that whole ordeal.

Since escaping the mine, everyone had been working on moving forward with their lives - Jake had handed in his leave-of-absence to the coal company and was looking for new jobs, Pete was working on his newest screenplay and studying hard for school, Chet was preparing to become junior foreman in a couple of weeks, and Dusty... well, Dusty was hoping to get somewhere with his musical saw concertos. As for Frances, though, no one had a clue what she'd been up to. She certainly hadn't set foot in Pickaway.

Chet reckoned she'd died up there, which earned him a punch in the arm from Pete, who thought she was doing just fine, thank you very much. Dusty was of the same opinion, though was a little suspicious as to whether or not she'd been stealing food again. And Jake - well, she was the strongest girl he knew, and he was five years her senior. Frances was probably thriving out there on her own, just as she'd done for the past three months. 

The group ended up settling for Jake's theory. Frances was tough and had a good head on her shoulders, if not a fierce temper. But none of them could have ever expected that she'd be so tough as to _tame a wolverine._

"Hey, Frances!" Pete calls out, rushing towards the back of her wooden lean-to with unmatched excitement. "We brought you some-- _AHH!"_

Pete runs right back the way he came when he sees the wolverine in question rush out from behind the shelter, hissing and gnashing its teeth as it tugs on the chain that keeps it tethered. He grabs Dusty's wrist and hightails it out of there - or at least he would have if Jake and Chet were not stood watching in morbid fascination.

Luckily for them, Frances scrambles out of the lean-to before the wolverine can get too distressed and break from its restraints. "Franklin, easy!" She throws the wolverine a large hunk of who-knows-what, which it snatches from mid-air and begins to rip apart before her eyes.

Worse still, she actually reaches down and _strokes its head._

"There's a good boy," she coos in an inconceivably high tone of voice that would be much more befitting of a dog rolling onto its back or a cat rubbing against its owner. Instead her affection is directed at a full-sized wolverine which is currently tearing its meal to shreds.

"Come on, let's go," Pete hisses towards his older brother, but Jake isn't listening, staring blankly as Frances continues to pet the furious devil-creature that had rushed them. It isn't too happy to be stroked while it eats, nudging her hand away with a snarl, but she just laughs happily at the attention. 

Meanwhile, Dusty is in hysterics. 

"Oh my lords Pete it's a REAL WOLVERINE, I told you this would happen, Frances warned us about those, we're gonna die and when we get to Heaven we're gonna have to tell Lord Jesus and the angels that a wolverine ate us and He's totally gonna laugh at me and I'll never live it down, oh Pete, I don't wanna be killed by a wolverine, we only just got out of the mine--"

"Franklin? Like the Ben?" 

Chet's question seems to remind Frances that there are other people around that aren't terrifying carnivores. She perks up immediately, smiling at him. "You got that right! And also 'cause it sounds like me, you know, Fran _ces_ , Fran _klin._ "

"What a pair," Jake deadpans, anxious eyes still trained on the wolverine. "Where'd you find that thing, anyway?"

"More like it found me," Frances scoffs. The boys have a horrible premonition of their youngest friend being mauled by a wolverine; she giggles at their sudden discomfort. "Don't be frightened, I knocked it out before it could do anything. I'm not scared of a stupid wolverine," she adds, brandishing her shotgun. "That's why I have one of these."

Chet stares at her, astounded. "It's official; you really are a nutjob."

"Hey, watch it!" Frances' angry tone turns sly. "Unless you wanna be food for the quick-hatch over here, I'd suggest you shut your piehole."

The group shudders in unison. Dusty, already scared out of his wits, looks just about ready to drop to his knees.

"I thought so!" Delighted at her own wickedness, Frances reaches down to stroke the wolverine again - but clearly trying to eat in peace, the creature loses its patience. It gives a low growl and bares its teeth, taking one great swipe at her forearm.

"Frances!" shouts Pete, but it's far too late. Her arm's already bleeding, clutched tight to her chest as she stumbles backward.

"Ow, ow, ow," she cries out, making some strange barking noise in an attempt to lecture the animal; it's clear she didn't expect it to lash out at her. "Bad Franklin!"

Pete and Dusty rush to her side. They're definitely not wolverine experts and they've never lived in the great outdoors, so for all they know the cuts trailing down her skin could be fatal. It had pierced her skin with ease - what else was it capable of?

"Frances, you _have_ to be careful," says Pete, wiping the beginnings of tears from her eyes -- and his. "Wolverines aren't meant to be pets."

"It serves you right for saying you'd feed us to that-- that _demon thing,_ " Dusty stutters out, but he's holding her hand tight all the same.

"That demon thing has a name, you know," Frances pouts, but her protest is weak. It seems her affinity towards the wolverine was lost the moment it hurt her. 

Jake rummages through his mining pack and grabs a box of Band-Aids before heading towards the trio, shaking his head. For just a second, Frances is reminded of her dad -- but the stinging pain in her arm distracts her. "It was a mighty stupid idea to try tame a wolverine, Frances." 

"You're telling me," she says, hissing a little as Jake applies them to her cuts. Once he's finished, she gives a great sigh. "I guess Franklin and I are destined to be apart, huh, buddy?"

The wolverine gives no response, still chewing happily on its piece of meat. 

"I mean, it _is_ a wolverine," smirks Chet. "What did you expect?"

Frances aims for the shoulder and punches him, hard.

"Ow! I take it back." He pauses for emphasis, rubbing at the fresh new bruise on his skin, then cracks a wide smile. _"She's_ the real wolverine here."

Frances yells furiously at the top of her lungs. Everyone runs. They make it all the way to Dusty's front porch and inside for dinner, laughing the whole way, before Pete raises the question --

"Oh, Frances! What are you gonna do about that wolverine?"

Dusty's parents share a _very_ concerned look. The five of them decide it might be a story better left untold.


End file.
